As we rethink how schools could run more effectively for student achievement, perhaps the schedule is more than a first-level reform where we just change the familiar structure. This week we had two consecutive snow days and when I traveled my building talking to other teachers on Friday afternoon, there was a noticeable energy that is just NOT there on most Fridays! The kids were even more engaged than on many Fridays when their exhaustion feeds disengagement. I realize they probably spent two days playing hard in the snow as many of the teachers I talked with spent a handful of hours regrouping their plans and direction…time we won’t have to spend this coming weekend. It got me thinking that if we actually went to a four-day school week where one day is for teacher collaboration/planning and four days are for intensive student-contact time, could we improve the lives and effectiveness of both? Would this work even better to the kids’ academic advantage if we balanced the weeks across the year?
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Oh, you just described Utopia in education, in my opinion. I am a fan of year round school, mostly because I observe the “slump” so many times throughout the year and know my kids (and me!) need a break desperately! This time of year is the major crunch time for us (standardized tests breathing down our necks) but yet this is the time of year my kids are least engaged no matter how many cartwheels I turn. I would give up my longer summer in a heartbeat for regularly scheduled breaks. We just had FOUR snow days (yes, four!) capped off by a weekend, and everyone came back with SO much more energy!
I would also love, love, LOVE to have a day each week to collaborate with my peers and give the kids a refresher of mind and body. I’m actually figuratively drooling at the thought of collaboration time on a regular basis that is not interrupted by everything under the sun! I’d even take a half day! We have so little time to share the best of what we do and learn from each other. Sign me up!